Temptation of the Wolves
by notesonlife
Summary: AU. Neji sighed, and suddenly the wind changed motion and he felt the cold sleek caress of a blade on his neck. It was a different being here, someone who had suddenly arrived on his turf. A girl. A story about yakuza. NejiTen
1. he meets her

**_Notes:_** _a new Alternate Universe, won't be too long. I love the idea of badass Neji and Tenten, because I love when they play rough. Probably two or three parts. title by a korean movie, very good i def recommend. enjoy!

* * *

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**Temptation of the Wolves**

"Ne, Kiba, did you see the new girl yet?" Naruto murmured, nudging the other boy in the ribs. Kiba pulled out his cigarette, letting out a long drawl.

"Oh yeah man she's sexy, got the nicest ass I've seen in a while," he smirked. "What's her name again? Maybe I'll chat her up later."

"Ah, I heard her name's like Tenten, dattebayo!"

Shikamaru, who had a book over his face sat up, yawning, "You guys would want to shut the fuck up," he growled, lighting his own cigarette and taking a drag. "So troublesome all of you."

"And why's that? Just appreciating a woman's body," Kiba snapped.

"Because _he_ got dibs on her," Shikamaru jerked a thumb towards the corner. Kiba glanced over and groaned, head on the table in defeat.

"You know the perks of being a yakuza really don't even out anymore," he bemoaned, and Naruto howled out, "Are you serious? I thought he was gay!"

A dart barely skimmed the blonde boy's nose, embedding in the wall of the room. A frightened first year outside let out a whimper. The classroom had been the ex-student council room, and now was the place for Konoha High's delinquents.

Neji, who had been looking out the window, legs up on the desk, retracted his arm, playing with another dart in his hand. He pulled his hair back at the nape of his neck, and smirked.

"Tenten."

* * *

He had been in the park, as the moon was rising. One of them had pulled a knife, only to be sacked in the face moments afterwards. Neji flipped the knife, a nice shiny sharp thing, and pocketed it. He needed a new one anyway. He glanced at his work, wiped his mouth, only smearing blood on his face.

"Hn," he muttered, looking down at his clothes. Bastards dirtied it.

"You know sometimes you don't need to beat the living shit out of them every time," Shikamaru muttered, lounging on the bench. He was Neji's companion for the night, and he had barely lifted a finger, just chain-smoking, looking at the moon. Better that way, Neji had decided, didn't want anyone interfering.

"Mist group sent them," he growled, listening to the sounds of the city.

"You think adults wouldn't bother with immature teenagers like you," Shikamaru groaned.

Neji sighed, and suddenly the wind changed motion and he felt the cold sleek caress of a blade on his neck. It was a different being here, someone who had suddenly arrived on his turf. A girl.

"Missed one," the delicate voice breathed. Shikamaru sat up straighter, eyes wide.

Neji only smirked.

"Mist really got nothing left, sent a girl did they? Well doesn't matter, I'd still hit ladies."

He turned, bringing the arm up with him to meet gazes with a small frame. Her feet dangled ever so slightly, and he was almost pulling her arm out of its socket. She curled, and he glimpsed dark brunette hair as she pushed off his chest, relinquishing the knife for it to clang wildly on the cement.

"I don't work for Mist," she said a while away, and Neji finally got to see her and he scoffed. She had twin buns in her hair, rather childish and girly, and then she turned her eyes to pierce his. Dark he noticed, on a tan complexion and sharp features, full lips. She had a tall frame, pure lean muscle on her bare arms and wearing just a slashed top and dark jeans. She looked barely older than him, but her curves were seductive in its movement.

"Nice to meet you," she dipped her head mockingly, and his eyes spotted the holster at her hip. She was armed. His smirk widened.

"Shouldn't a good girl like you be sleeping at home?" he murmured.

"Shouldn't a rich boy like you be studying his books rather than beating up yakuza? Or actually, you might be the damsel in distress."

"Low blow," Shikamaru commented.

Neji turned his head to growl for the other to shut up, and then when he turned back she had already attempted a swipe at his neck, another dagger in her hand. He pushed a foot back, pulling out the knife in his pocket as his arms blocked the strong shove. Tenten kicked up the knife on the ground, and had already ran back at him, grinning, and he tensed, reading her movements. She aimed at his neck and such a speed, he heard the clang of metal, and then he felt the band in his hair snap, and his dark locks fell in front of his eyes.

One foot kicked off his back and she had already been up at Shikamaru, cheekily taking the tie off his shocked form. Neji turned and Tenten had already blindfolded his companion. She looked up at him, and smiled. He didn't return it, Neji didn't like the opponent he was fighting aim at his companion. But Shikamaru had done nothing.

"Such a troublesome bitch," Shikamaru muttered, and Tenten shoved his head down, taking the cigarette from his mouth and taking a long drag.

"Alright," she motioned at Neji, smiling and crushing the ash beneath her heel. "Shall we have another go?"

She dropped the weapons in her hands with a clang that made his nerves jump. She also unbuckled the holster, letting it fall with a surprisingly heavier than he imagined thud to the floor.

"You might be needing those, let's say to balance out the playing field," he smirked.

"Might be an advantage for me," she returned, "And I like playing fair."

"I haven't even given my all."

"I'd like to see it then, because I'm not impressed yet."

She circled him smirking, as a cat would around its prey. He felt the adrenaline running; he hadn't had such a good fight in a while. Especially not from a girl.

Then she pounced, and he felt it, he sensed it and grabbed her leg before it collided with his chest. She kicked up with the other, parallel to the ground and he blocked that too, as she pushed off once again. He went to her now, as she was in the air and didn't even have half a second to recover when he had swung back and his fist collided with her stomach.

He heard a nice retching sound and smirked, until he felt her leg get tangled with his, and suddenly his balance was gone. The back of his neck collided with the seat of the bench Shikamaru had just been in, and a warm heavy weight was pushing down on his hips. He felt a sharp sting across his cheekbone, and the warm bittersweet blood trail down. He felt her dark curls against his nose, as one of her buns had fallen to frame the right side of her face. She had been hiding a thin needle in her hair.

She was sitting on him, her whole body leaning on his own, one hand fisted in his hair pulling his face back to meet hers, the other arm leaning against the bench behind his head.

"Such a pretty boy like you, listen up," she breathed, inches from his face. Neji was panting, both hands were held against her waist, keeping her pressed against him. Her chest was pushing ever so nicely against his own.

"Don't forget my name. Tenten," she said panting, and grinned that feral, sexy grin, before Shikamaru extended a hand and she took it, pulling her up off him, the warm weight suddenly leaving. She looked down at him, kicking him playfully in the leg.

"You got a pretty strong punch."

"You would want to get that checked out," Shikamaru advised, still holding her hand. "There's a hospital up a bit."

Neji turned his gaze up at the moon, his heart still pumping, racing and not on the verge of stopping anytime soon.

She shook the hand away, and turned, walking away. "Yeah, I might just do that," she said offhandedly. Neji turned his head and he watched the line of her back and the swell of her hips in its seductive way.

"I think she might have won that," Shikamaru let out slowly, sinking into the bench beside him and lighting another cigarette.

Neji only smirked, touching the blood seeping from his cheekbone.

* * *

"Nice to see you again," he leaned up against the lockers as she was retrieving her shoes. She looked up at him, a smile growing on her full lips.

"I thought I'd recognized your uniform that night," she said easily, gracefully putting on her shoe. "Who knew your most infamous delinquent group all go to Konoha."

He extended his arm, and she chuckled, using it as a rest as she got the other one on. She picked up her bag, and he pocketed his one hand nonchalantly.

"You know, you look better with your hair like this," he leaned in and muttered in her ear, flicking the ponytail. It was thick and curled in the ends, while other pieces fell and framed her face.

"I wouldn't talk, Four-eyes," she grinned, raising an eyebrow at Neji, whose black glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Didn't realize you were my age," he said. He had leaned in quite far, and the space between their faces had lessened. Before she could say something in return, a blonde sempai had wrapped her arms around Neji's waist from behind.

"Mm, Neji-kun, you didn't come by last weekend," she drawled. Neji rolled his eyes, a sudden feeling of irritation and being interrupted, especially by this notorious slut. Tenten looked over curiously. The blonde met her questioning look with a sizing-up look.

"Oh I see, Neji-kun you're a heartbreaker, always chatting up the girls, even the new transfer student," she purred, drawing circles on his chest.

"Mika-sempai, I'll see you another time," he said lowly. She beamed, her makeup heavy and unappealing. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, "I'll see you at lunch, Neji-kun!"

She threw another look at Tenten before bouncing off with her other girls.

"She doesn't mean anything," Neji explained slowly when met with silence. Tenten only raised a brow, a playful smile on her lips, "Now that's no way to put down such a _charming_ girl."

But he knew there, his chances were shot.

"Didn't know you were the top student here," Tenten turned, shooting back a look that only commanded him to follow the walk of her hips, "You coming, Class President?"

He looked appreciatively at her form, looking innocent in the school uniform. He sighed.

"Troublesome."

She had become easily friends with everyone, much too charming and cheerful for a delinquent, and he had missed this kind of smile, one that didn't hide a secret or a seductive tone. She happened to be childhood friends with Lee, an annoyance who had been utterly thrilled by her arrival. She laughed with her whole body, and sometimes she sent him glances, and he then would realize he'd been staring the whole time.

She had disappeared at lunch time, and Neji was forced to ask Lee her whereabouts.

Lee grinned, "My eternal rival! Our cherry blossom went on the roof, why do you ask, are…"

He didn't finish as Neji had already left, just dodging Mika-sempai bounce into the classroom.

* * *

She was leaning against the railing, tipping forward on her toes bending out to the long fall down.

"Bend down a little more and I'll see your panties," he said. She was still a girl.

She straightened instantly, turning quickly, chuckling. She looked nervous, like a child caught stealing a candy bar. He liked that expression, the one of panic, before recognition dawned and she let out a breath.

"Thought you were a teacher, your voice is so deep," she said, and he saw what was behind her hand, a cigarette. She extended her arm, offering it to him. He took it, nodding his thanks. It was a strong one, and almost tangy in its taste. Foreign.

"You can keep it," Tenten said, "I'm going to quit."

"Smart choice," he said, and they both leaned against the railing before Neji flicked the finished butt in the wind.

"Whose side are you on?" he muttered. The question had been etching him ever since he met her that night.

"Ne, you know it's not smart to assume I'm on yours," Tenten said and Neji smirked.

"I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself," Tenten sighed, elbows resting against the railing. She popped a mint in her mouth and Neji then had her caged between his arms and body.

"You seen to know a good amount about me."

"I didn't ask for your name, actually," Tenten said thoughtfully, not facing him but a playful grin on her face. She turned a sidelong glance at him. He only continued to stare down at the curve of her cheek and the dark wide eyes and full lips. She chuckled as he leaned in closer, their lips almost touching, "I know you're a Hyuuga, but I don't know why a boy like you would be a yakuza. You got money, position, smarts…"

"It gets boring."

"Beating people up day in and day out would get pretty abysmal after a while too…"

"Well it's getting a bit more interesting lately."

She wasn't quite able to respond, as her mouth was further occupied. Despite the mint, she tasted like warm, bitter smoke. When their lips finally parted, he was panting. He hadn't felt a kiss such like this in such a long while, if at all ever.

She chuckled softly, "You know, I heard all good yakuza have fucked up sob stories to tell,"

"You talk too much," he muttered, and closed the space again, and this time, a hand crept up the back of her leg. She smirked against his lips, and only wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

* * *

_Comments would be appreciated. Sorry I'm a slow updater._


	2. he gets her

They were drunk.

Neji's head was spinning, and he had an arm fully around Tenten, mouth engaged. When they parted, Tenten had felt his desire and looked up, panting, "My place."

They had fumbled with the stairs, the keys, tripped into her apartment.

"I live alone," she said as Neji laid kisses on her neck and collarbone, trekking south. Passion, physical desire, he needed it now, he was pulling clothes off impatiently, heat building up fast inside. And she gave it to him. She wasn't a virgin, he figured, not a woman that talked and lured him in like that. And it led to a primal emotion, jealousy, in him. But it didn't matter he supposed, since he wasn't either.

He awoke to Tenten gone and blood on the sheets, surprise suddenly etched in his nerves, his hard-edged emotions. His hand had traveled below the pillow, and he felt something hard and sleek. He pulled out a sharp blade, and only stared, examining the blade through his fingers. He smirked.

She was sitting on the couch, curtains drawn, sipping a coffee and smoking, a blank look on her face. She had put on shorts and a very thin tank top, her legs curled up next to her.

"Oh, good morning, Neji," she said, looking up at him, eyeing his response, his reaction. There was an awkward pause.

"I thought you were quitting," he said, taking the cigarette from her fingers to raise to his mouth and inhale. He slumped down next to her, and Tenten eyed his semi-naked frame. He threw his head back, massaging his aching temples.

"Shittiest hangover. Got pretty wasted," Tenten commented, taking another sip off the hot mug in front of her before leaning over to hold it to Neji's lips. He took an obligatory sip, and when Tenten made eye contact, she saw the primal instinct still there. He took the cup out of her hands, and pushed her back on the couch.

* * *

Tenten had started playing cards with Naruto and Kiba, both who begrudgingly had to accept that Neji had already staked his claim. Although they did enjoy the latter's obvious aura of annoyance that _his_ girl was paying attention to other boys.

"Tenten, come here."

She looked up from her cards, and drawled out a no. Neji twitched.

Kiba pushed the cards away, frustrated. "Are you two fucking or not?"

"Obviously," Naruto smirked and Tenten hit him.

"If they are officially together is a better question," Shikamaru muttered, lying on his back on the floor, a book over his face.

Tenten shrugged, as Neji only looked slightly surprised, as much as his emotions would let him. It was true, Tenten and him weren't any kind of official relationship, it was purely physical. To them, everything was material, private, time to satisfy desires.

"Hmm," Tenten stood up, walking over to Neji and propping up to sit on the desk, legs hanging over his own.

"Are we dating, Neji?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

And she had laid the matter in his hands.

"Yes," he said, almost automatically.

And then there was a split second of tension where he thought she was going to disagree. The sudden, (was it fear) caution that it wasn't, "they" weren't, as he had expected. But she merely shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Then she grabbed him by the tie and kissed him, and before he could register, she had jumped off the desk, his tie in her hand, and walked out the door. Neji was speechless. Kiba and Naruto, only stared at the door in awe.

"Damnit, why do you get such a sexy girlfriend?" Kiba grumbled.

* * *

It was a custom in Konoha High School, that if one were in an official relationship with another student, he would exchange ties with her. She wore hers with a grin as the other girls had squeaked in surprise, and she had practically bounced over to tie hers around his neck. The designs were different for boys and girls, if only subtly, but for the prying student body, it was the symbol of a rumor turned true.

Neji had bent his head down to receive her kiss, and suddenly, their "relationship" was official. It was kind of surreal in essence, since Neji never labeled himself as a 'boyfriend' to a girl, it was just a matter of who was a hot, easy fuck. Sometimes, he had been with much older women, but they didn't mean anything. Tenten didn't mean anything irresistibly pathetic, like love, either.

They made out on the top of the school at lunch and shared a cigarette. Tenten popped mints often, he noticed, and the mix of smoke and mint had filled his senses constantly. They had sex a couple times, when Neji had come with her home, both of them pissed drunk or horny (usually both). She lived at home alone, he remembered, but he did not know why, never bothered to ask. He ended up being at her apartment much more often than his own house, not that it really mattered to his family, anyway, it wasn't the first time Neji didn't come home at night. But it was the first time Neji had done other things than sex while staying with another. He _enjoyed_ her company, her endless chatter, her laughter.

Neji had been on the couch, reading when Tenten plopped next to him and promptly turned on the television, not even attempting to bother him or divert his attention. But he ended up watching Tenten, the curve of her cheeks and her lips, the slim shoulders and the bandaid across her forearm. When Tenten flicked her eyes to him, his eyes nervously returned to his lap at the words.

Tenten only giggled.

But they did not "date", he did not hold hands or bring her to the movies or something unnecessary and corny like that. They were above that, he was sure that such useless waste of time over some overrated emotion wasn't even upon consideration, and he had made that known to Tenten. She didn't seem to mind.

* * *

"So I leave for a month and I come back with you whipped as hell."

Neji had been in the room with Shikamaru, planning, when the familiar voice slithered past.

"Uchiha, finally came back from your pitiful 'revenge' over your brother?"

"Fuck off, who's this new girl that you're madly in love with?" Sasuke smirked from the doorway, leaning against the wall and eyeing his well-matched comrade. Shikamaru groaned.

"I'm not in love with her," Neji spat, shutting the book with much more force needed. Sasuke was just getting under his skin…

"I've seen it. Your eyes never leave her, you're digging yourself a grave. That woman's going to leave you heartbroken like a pussy."

"Because you're a masochist and won't accept Haruno is no matter to me, go cry in a corner because your brother doesn't love you."

"You probably know absolutely nothing about her."

Neji stood up, and swung a fist at the other. Sasuke dodged easily, quickly aiming for Neji's side, but he wasn't fast enough to block it. Neji doubled over, coughed.

"You've also gotten pathetically weak," Sasuke scoffed, turning to leave. "The great Hyuuga Neji can no longer put up a fight because he is too whipped by his girlfriend. Who knew you'd give up your ways and get one."

* * *

"Ino's going on a date Saturday with Shikamaru."

"So?" Neji finished bandaging his arm. His "talk" with Sasuke had left him angered, and he had gone out on a search for people to beat up that night. He found himself back at Tenten's apartment. Better, he supposed.

"No reason," Tenten said offhandedly. Neji looked up, and Tenten was busying herself in the small kitchen. He smirked, chuckling.

"Do you want to go out on a date, Tenten?"

"No," she said quickly.

Neji examined his work, grimly patting himself on the back for a first aid well done as Tenten crawled into his lap.

He stared at her back, bare and glowing in the moonlight. Tenten lit a cigarette, letting out a sigh. They didn't cuddle or anything, after sex, they fell asleep, or at least Tenten seemed to and Neji only watched her.

* * *

"You've been distracted tonight," Tenten said into the still air.

Neji didn't answer, continuing to look at the curve of her spine, the indentation and curve of bone and shoulder. His fingers skimmed the back of her neck, then down to where the bandages around her midsection still were. He played with a loose end. A torn muscle from when he had hit her. She was in pain, but didn't show it.

"Why do you live alone?"

Tenten didn't answer. After a moment, Neji took his hand away.

"Where are your parents?"

"They died," she said suddenly.

Neji didn't say anything. He continued to gaze at her skin, her curves and then she turned and looked at him, expecting.

"My father…" he began.

Tenten kissed him before he had to bare his soul, silencing him when he wanted to be. She tucked herself in the bend of his arms, and kissed right where his heart was. And all he could think of was that this woman was _his_, he didn't deserve her.

* * *

He realized that he was much too into Tenten, and that he desperately needed to get out. Get out of this tangle of emotions he _never_ felt about a woman, and she was hardly even considered one. A girl, with alluring waist and hips and breasts and air of grace that had him captured and captivated since the moment his eyes had met hers.

It was when she had shown up during a fight, and the thugs were armed, on top of that, only to be ganged up upon. And suddenly, there was that abrupt, animalistic panic and anger had swept in.

She was not supposed to be here, she was going to get injured.

He had blocked a hit that landed a heavy gash across his arm. It was a terrible pain he had been unfamiliar with, a wound he wasn't on the receiving end for a long time.

The man grinned, his grizzly raspy voice croaking, "The great Hyuuga Neji, with a reputation of not getting hit, just got sliced by _my_ knife!"

Neji had quickly shut him up with a upwards kick, holding his bleeding arm. He turned back to Tenten just as the man hit the ground, adrenaline on edge. She met his eye and understanding dawned, just a short enough examination of his inner fears that she was able to turn back and ruthlessly beat her own aggressors. No words were uttered. Neji finished his business quickly, while in his peripheral vision he watched Tenten crouch down and steal the man's wallet.

This wasn't the Tenten from school, when her hair was up in buns and she was wearing the school uniform in her girly innocence, she transformed into something deadly and dangerous, and in his mind, irresistible. She didn't intend to hang around for long, and he noticed there was an impassive look on her face when she nodded to him for a finished job.

"So you are on my side," he panted, catching up with her, his heart not calming down.

She only shrugged, not talking. Neji didn't like the uneasiness, the quiet, or the stained blood on her skin. And then there was the siren of police cars and the two of them tensed. A man on the floor groaned and then the pair was sprinting. He had a hand around her waist suddenly, almost as a shield, and they both turned in a corner as the police car screamed past.

Tenten was shivering and he was already kissing her before either of them could catch their breath. A hand ran up her side and felt the warm seep of blood, and he pulled away, looking down at the deep cut on her side, barely visible in the darkness. His face must have contorted in alarm because she met his gaze with a hard look.

"You look like you've never seen blood before."

"You're injured," he said softly.

Tenten examined the wound, touching it as the blood ran over her fingers. It was a steady flow.

"I'll fix it up when I get home, I suppose," she said nonchalantly. "You got hit by that attack I could've easily blocked."

Neji slowly realized, remembered, that Tenten was already in position to fully block and retaliate the hit he had blocked, a stupid move on his part.

"I…"

She looked back up at him, and didn't even try to smile. His nerves were on edge, and his heart still hadn't stopped racing, whether it was from his own pain or the knowledge of hers.

"Tenten, come, I'll bandage it."

And for the first time, he saw something cold and painful staring back at him in her eyes, her expression.

"I don't need you to baby me."

And then suddenly, the minor detail he had been trying to block out, came out screaming.

His hand had gripped the front of her shirt, lifting it up in a rough motion. There were still the bandages wrapped tightly and neatly around her midsection, bloodied by the recent wound, but he ripped them off as Tenten tried to push his arms away futilely.

"Neji, what the fuck-"

She hadn't let him unwrap them before. There was a shrill nervousness in her voice. And there, he saw the scar, about half an inch thick.

"What is this?" he whispered.

"Just a little surgery," Tenten breathed out, closing her eyes as his fingers treaded softly across the scar, his palms caressing the skin just below her breasts. And then the anguish hit him. He couldn't get out of it, out of Tenten, if he wanted to. And he had fisted his other hand, he was angry, angry at himself for inflicting pain on her, for this irremovable sign that he had caused way too much damage. She was a _girl_; her body was not adapted to put up with a punch like that.

Suddenly her hand grabbed his own, pushing it away, off her warm skin.

"Don't act so precocious and worried now," she said coldly. "What's done is done."

And then she had slipped from under the barrier of his arms and was gone.

* * *

She didn't fully avoid him, no that would cause talk and probing. Neji saw it as a sign of respect from her to him, she knew how much he hated personal questions by overbearing peers, so she did allow him to walk her to class and to continue to have lunch together on the rooftop. Or at least, it appeared so. Tenten, who always had a gift of coaxing conversation out of him had gone eerily silent, pensive, a sign of distrust.

But had Tenten ever truly trusted him? Every time they shared a bed, she still had that knife underneath the pillows. What at first seemed like a quirk, a mechanism of her own security at night now began to dawn on him as her protection _against him_. He hadn't registered that at night her hand was still under the pillow, even when wrapped in his arms.

He really barely knew anything about her, what her favorite color was and what made her smile and even how to make her happy. He knew nothing about her family, her childhood, her life, and he realized he hadn't told her about his, even though there were hints that she wanted to know, on his own time (except he didn't make time). He remembered exactly who Tenten talked about in her chatter, the gossip and the homework and the long ago fights. But he was lost on who she really was, and suddenly, this understanding made the once comfortable ambivalence with the only person he had truly opened to now seemed like a awkward silence with a stranger.

What they had looked like, felt like, was a normal relationship. A sense of satisfaction Neji was not familiar with, comfort that made him slowly put in the back of his mind, subconsciously trying to forget, that she was a part of his darker world. And now that he had seen her again in it, it was tearing him apart.

"Where are you going?" he asked, when after school, it appeared she was leaving with Uchiha Sasuke, who stood in the doorway. Neji was jealous, this was evident, and he was worried. Sasuke wasn't light on his drugs, or his women.

"Just going out for a smoke," she said, a fake grin on her lips. She jerked a thumb at Sasuke. "I want him to try _mine_, because the ones here are absolute shit."

He remembered the taste of her cigarettes, tangy and strong that filled his mind and calmed his nerves, and he couldn't exactly place the last time he had them. Much too long ago.

And Neji didn't say anything, only watched solemnly as Tenten turned and didn't look back.

He had grasped too hard, and like sand, she was slipping from his fingers. She wasn't on his side, and probably never was. Their short-termed alliance was crumbling.

* * *

_Notes: _How rather depressive, sorry. Not that good of a second chapter, haha. Well, I think there will be an end with the next one. Let's hope it won't be too cliche.


	3. he loves her

He winced, he gripped the cold, trembling hands that were now matted with blood, his blood. His nerves were on fire, his brain had begun to shut down, and in his fingers were her hands and his warm, gushing blood that threatened to empty out of his body.

Tenten wrenched her hands away from him, the knife caustically sliding back out, and his pain receptors forced his sight into a blanket of white; excruciating pain left all his extremities numb. Neji sank to his knees. The gash was deep, and his blood was slowly pooling on the concrete.

"Tenten," he gasped.

He heard a strong uptake in breath, and he turned his head up only to see the tears fall from her face, her slim shoulders shake uncontrollably, her trying to wipe her bloody hands against the stark white of her dress. Her breathing was ragged, she was crying uncontrollably.

"I love you," he mumbled, before his world turned black.

* * *

Neji fumbled with his words, the first time he could ever remember. Tenten was sitting next to him, playing with an unlit cigarette between her fingers and slowly sipping a drink, and Neji blurted it out. It was the first time he consciously planned one.

"The festival's… coming up."

Tenten finally turned her head to look at him but Neji had his eyes fixed on the clouds. It was not that he was afraid, it was this sudden increase in heart rate, his inability to stay still (which he was impeccable at), it was signs that he was _nervous_. He hated the feeling and finally dragged his eyes towards Tenten's face. Not that he could really much take them off now.

Her brows furrowed for a moment.

"Ne… are you asking me on a date?"

And she had done it again, she had flung the question at him he didn't want to answer, in fear that she'd object.

"Yes."

Tenten turned back, finishing her drink and rocking on her heels to stand up. Neji watched, cautious.

"Eight sound good?" she said softly, not facing him. Neji felt a breath of relief leave his body, as he watched her silhouette. He stood up after her, and he caught what must have been a smile on her lips.

He was dumbfounded on the workings of women.

* * *

Tenten had not shown up in a kimono, that he had expected. But she did show up in a Western dress, a simple garment of ivory white with a crimson red bow tied right below her breasts, the fabric hugging her torso and her waist, flowing comfortably across the swell of her hips to flutter at her knees. Her hair was down, and not matted with sweat and the scent of sex, falling in soft curls below her shoulders, and her bangs were pinned to the side. She wore comfortable red flats, and bracelets that tingled together adorned her slender wrists. She smiled when she saw him, and had politely kissed him on the cheek, where the scent of magnolia blossoms filled his senses. His hands had involuntary touched her waist, and she turned her head upwards, wordless, and allowed him to take the kiss he had been waiting much too long for. He hadn't felt her lips in over two weeks, not since that dark night when she defied him. He missed her, physically dependent on her soft touch and her warm lips.

Tenten's fingers slipped between his, and she smiled a beautiful, dreamy smile. Neji hadn't seen this side to her, and it dawned on him that there were so many endless more possibilities of faces and multifaceted sides and beauty he had yet to uncover about her. He wanted to see more of Tenten, especially this side that was just as equally entrancing, of Tenten in dresses.

He had missed her. The empty abyss in his chest was slowly filling back again.

* * *

She had been trying to catch goldfish and he was watching, he caught himself thoroughly enjoying himself.

Tenten looked up at him, she caught his expression and something on her face fell. Neji blinked. She had such a _sad_, heartbreaking expression that he could not completely comprehend. But she had looked down before he could further analyze it.

Tenten had caught two goldfish, who were swimming contently, unaware of their sudden loss of their world, only aware of each other's existence, each other's space and distance relative to their own. When she had looked up again, there was a smile on her lips and a blankness in her eyes. Neji kissed her again, out of his sheer desire. The vibrancy did not return to her eyes, but Neji thought nothing of it.

For those few hours, it was only her that he reveled in, her very being restored his confidence that Tenten was his, all his.

* * *

Neji's phone rang. He attempted to ignore it, but Tenten urged him to pick it up, knowing it must be Shikamaru.

"What?" he growled irritated. Shikamaru's breath was ragged, the reception was static.

"…Hyuuga…Mist…" Shikamaru was yelling from a distance. Neji frowned, alarmed. Shikamaru must be in a fight, and the news had to be urgent.

"Where are you?" Neji tensed.

"…target…" a long static filled Neji's senses. "…Tenten…"

His fist clenched. Someone was going to target Tenten. Tenten looked up in his eyes, and Neji quickly checked Shikamaru's location. Just a half mile south, by the pier. Definitely a deserted area, perfect for a fight, a murder. Shikamaru was in trouble, but Tenten was to be targeted.

Neji assessed his surroundings, his arm squeezed tighter around her.

"Neji, what's wrong?" she asked, turning her head up.

He contemplated on telling her. Tenten would tell him to leave her and save his friend, or worse, she'd insist on coming along. He didn't say anything, and Tenten forced him to stop. She looked into his eyes, and waited for him to tell her.

"Shikamaru's in some trouble at the pier."

Tenten nodded, quickly checking their surroundings. The crowd was getting thicker around them.

"Someone is going to target you," Neji continued. "I can't leave you alone."

"I can protect myself," she retorted indignantly. Neji ignored her comment, and pulled her along.

"Shikamaru will be fine," he said finally.

"You're being ridiculous," Tenten said somberly. "Go."

Neji spotted Kiba and Naruto at a stand, bantering around a gambling table. Tenten was fidgeting under his grip.

"Stay with them," he commanded, and Kiba and Naruto exchanged glances.

Neji recounted what happened to the pair, and they voiced on going. But Neji had a feeling that there was something much more threatening. Mist was involved.

"Just watch Tenten," Neji's hand was running down Tenten's arm, he squeezed her hand. She wasn't responsive to his touch. She frowned, and Neji sighed.

"Tenten, I need you to be safe," he said softly. He leaned down and kissed her, she turned her head away.

"I'm going."

* * *

Shikamaru was nowhere in sight. A heavy fog had settled on the dock, and the pier was as expected, deserted.

Neji was antsy. Whoever it was wanted Tenten, and here she was, an easy target. Walked right into the trap.

Tenten didn't step on the dock, so neither did Neji. And through the fog stood two figures. One of them was Shikamaru, and Neji signaled Naruto to head in. There was a bit of roughing, and then a splash. Naruto's yell and a subsequent splash. The bastard had tied Shikamaru up and pushed him into the ocean, with Naruto after him. Kiba ran ahead, and Neji was left squeezing Tenten's hand.

"Go," she whispered, and the hardest decision of his life was presented to him.

Instead, he took her by the hand and they ran out to the dock.

The head of Mist stood, a gun in his hand pointed at Kiba.

"Glad to see you made it, Hyuuga," he sneered. Neji clenched his teeth.

"I won't kill him, but you're going to realize pretty soon that you've walked right into my trap."

Tenten was no longer by his side, walking calmly towards the head of Mist. He handed her the gun, in which she pointed at Kiba as the thug tied him up.

"You said you didn't work for Mist," Neji muttered, his voice shaky. His world was hazy.

Tenten didn't look at him, and the yakuza laughed. "She lied to you, Hyuuga. She got under your skin just like she was supposed to and she broke you. Go. Attack her. Or maybe she'll attack first."

When Kiba was tied down, the yakuza kicked him in the side, took the gun from Tenten and walked down the dock.

"I'll leave this to you, Ten-chan."

Just as his figure was lost in the fog, Tenten's knives glistened in the dew.

* * *

"_Whose side are you on?"_

"_Ne, you know it's not smart to assume I'm on yours."

* * *

_

"Neji, Neji, Neji!"

He woke up two white walls and pink hair shaking him. It was Sakura. His side ached, but he was alive.

"Oh my god, he finally woke up. Get Naruto!"

Neji's head ached. Disoriented, he tried to sit up, but was pushed down by Sakura. "You're in too much of a critical point to attempt to strain the wound!"

"Where's Tenten?" he croaked.

"The bitch tried to kill you!" Kiba growled.

Neji looked out the window, watching the birds through the trees. Tenten had betrayed him. He loved her, but she was gone. Around him, Sakura was fussing, Naruto and Kiba were scheming, and Shikamaru was staring out the window with him.

"She didn't though," a voice said, over the noise. Neji turned his head to look at him. It was Sasuke, leaning along the doorframe.

"If Tenten wanted to kill you, she would have. The fact isn't that she merely missed. She knifed you at such a precise area that would cause a shit of bleeding, but you wouldn't die. She missed your vital organs on purpose."

"Where is she?" Neji mumbled, trying to get up.

"No moving from there!" Sakura shrieked.

"She transferred schools, and we searched the apartment; she moved out. There's no way of finding her," Shikamaru reasoned.

"We go to Mist, then."

* * *

Tenten was shivering, holding her aching side and limped out towards the street. She touched her torn lip.

She hid long enough to know that Neji had fully recovered, before going to Mist and end things. Kill the head.

Mist had beaten her up bad, but she finally got to see that bastard's face. She had barely escaped. Her scar still ached, reopened by her demons. She had remembered that night, the look in his eyes, his words. She had cut open the wound again, to die.

But she didn't die. She bled half to death, but she didn't die.

Hiding in the shadows, she heard the roar of engines. She didn't have much energy to move from there, but after shouts, she watched as behind the doors of the house she had just escaped from danced flame. Someone had torched the Mist quarters.

And she knew who. She had to get out now before he found her.

Grabbing her bleeding side, Tenten moved out to the sidewalk. Headlights shone on her, speeding towards her.

_Hit me. Hit me._

The car screeched to a stop, inches in front of her. Tenten knew she was caught. She limped to the passenger seat, and stepped in.

* * *

Tenten hissed, but Neji continued to work. They were sitting in her empty apartment, Tenten on the table and Neji cleaning the wound. He had removed her shirt completely, her skinny frame shivering, and Neji remembered the feel of her skin under his fingers.

"Why did you reopen this?"

Tenten didn't respond, and he felt a tear on his hand. He looked up, but Tenten was already wiping her face. Gently, he moved her hands away. Tenten batted them away.

"Why are you here, Neji?"

Neji wiped the tears from her eyes, but they continued to fall. He kissed them, holding her face tenderly. He kissed her eyelids before brushing his lips on hers.

"Tenten. You are on my side. Always."

It only made her cry harder, her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Neji. I love you."

* * *

_Notes: Finally finished this. Phew._


End file.
